1. Field
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for stretching the orifice of a balloon, inflating the balloon and inserting an object or objects into the inflated balloon.
2. Prior Art
A recently popularized packaging arrangement for gifts involves stretching the orifice or mouth of a balloon, inflating the balloon, inserting the gift into the inflated balloon, and then tying off the orifice to prevent the escape of air and to maintain the balloon, with the gift inside, in the inflated condition. The inflated balloon with gift can then be presented to the recipient.
A number of approaches and apparatus have been developed for inflating the balloon to allow insertion thereinto of the gift or other objects including what has been termed positive-pressure system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,809,483, 4,809,484, 4, 811,841 and 4,878,335. In these systems, the balloon is inflated by forcing air under positive-pressure into the balloon to allow the ultimate insertion thereinto of the desired object. With these systems, typically some type of apparatus is necessary for moving the object from the positive-pressure source into the inflated balloon and so it is difficult to reorient or reposition the object in the balloon if such is necessary.
A more recent approach to inflating balloons to allow the insertion of objects thereinto involves the use of so-called negative-pressure systems such as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,924,919 and 4,974,393. In these systems, a balloon is positioned in a housing with the balloon orifice in communication with the outside. The housing is then evacuated of air to cause the balloon to expand. After expansion, and with the balloon orifice still exposed to the outside, the desired object can be inserted through the orifice into the interior of the balloon. With these systems, it is oftentimes easier to reorient or reposition the object inside the balloon to place it in precisely the position desired.
Another negative-pressure system presently available to the public includes upper and lower hemispherical shells which may be fitted together to form a complete spherical shell. The upper hemispherical shell includes an opening and a mounting ring fitted in the opening upon which a balloon orifice may be stretched and mounted so that the balloon depends into the spherical shell. The spherical shell is placable on an evacuation pump which, when operated, pumps air from the interior of the hemispherical shell out through openings in the lower hemispherical shell to cause the balloon to expand and allow insertion through the orifice of an object. The balloon orifice may then be tied off, the two hemispherical shells separated, and the balloon removed.
The above-described hemispherical shell arrangement, although quite compact and efficient in inflating a balloon to allow insertion of objects thereinto, has a number of drawbacks. Among these is the difficulty in mounting a balloon orifice on the ring fixed in the upper hemispherical shell. Such mounting requires the folding of the balloon orifice laterally and downwardly about an upstanding ridge and then pushing the balloon body through the opening and into the interior of the hemispherical shell. Another drawback is the difficulty of maintaining the balloon in the inflated condition when the air pump is turned off to allow insertion of an object into the balloon. That is, the seal between the exterior of the balloon and the interior of the spherical shell is generally not reliable to prevent air from entering that space to cause deflation of the balloon. Still another drawback is the lack of an effective seal between the spherical shell and the pump motor housing which requires that the pump work harder to evacuate the spherical shell and maintain the balloon in the inflated condition.